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Book Club

October 28, 2015

Have you ever picked up a book knowing that its arrival in your life at precisely this moment was a gift? That was my sense when I held Jay Michaelson’s The Gate of Tears, subtitled “Sadness and the Spiritual Path.” As I delved into the book (out this month in paperback), that sense only deepened. “Joy and sadness are not opposites,” Michaelson writes. “Sometimes, they coexist, like two consonant notes of a complex yet harmonious chord.” And he observes: “At our contemporary moment, the ordinary sadness that is part of a life......

October 14, 2015

Need a change of pace for your book club, or a unique gift for a friend? Go to your favorite book seller and immediately buy The Well of Being, subtitled “a children’s book for adults.” I honestly felt privileged reading this beautiful, artistic, profound, provocative and absolutely one-of-a-kind story. I don’t know what to compare this book to, in order to adequately describe how powerfully and wisely this magnificent story affects the reader, by speaking straight to the heart. Be prepared to go on an enchanted journey through the landscape of your......

June 24, 2015

I recently read a book that I’m delighted to share with The Wisdom Daily community, called Femmevangelical: The Modern Girl’s Guide to the Good News, by Jennifer D. Crumpton. Let’s take a closer look at what the good reverend has written. Yes, I said reverend, but that shouldn’t scare anyone off; this is no ordinary book about religion. In fact, the book isn’t about religion, at least not as religion is often (mis)understood. And it’s certainly not limited to young women, or to those who consider themselves Christian, or Christian-curious. So who......

April 09, 2015

As co-authors of The Book of Forgiving – The Fourfold Path for Healing Ourselves and Our World, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his biographer (and daughter), Reverend Mpho Tutu, assert that nobody and nothing is inherently beyond forgiveness. Is that actually true? You know, I think it really is. That said, I feel that each individual needs to decide for themselves who, what and when they’re ready to forgive. As I wrote previously on The Wisdom Daily, there are painful situations where atonement may be sincerely offered but forgiveness is not achievable for......

March 26, 2015

Not long ago, Dan Harris, anchor for ABC’s Nightline, published a book about quieting his racing mind through meditation: 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works — A True Story. A New York Times nonfiction bestseller (now available in paperback), 10% Happier does have a few ideas, summarized here, that you owe it to yourself to consider – whether you already meditate, have considered trying, or never plan to do so. 1. Don’t necessarily give up grand......

March 12, 2015

Did you know that Benjamin Franklin started his day with an “air bath” – which means he sat around naked? And that Thomas Wolfe wrote while standing up in the kitchen, utilizing the top of the refrigerator as his desk, fondling his “male configurations”? Jean-Paul Sartre chewed on enough tablets to meet ten times the recommended daily dosage of Corydrane (a mix of amphetamine and aspirin). The painter Georgia O’Keefe rose early to drink tea alone in bed and watch the sun rise before entering her studio. And the writer Honore de......

March 09, 2015

Innovation, innovation, innovation. It’s all we hear today, as we’re flooded with interviews and talks from academic, business and tech-pop culture gurus. Ken Tuchman’s e-book The Technology of Us cuts through the morass. It’s a collection of smart essays by some of the most interesting leaders across a wide range of domains. Every piece is full of insights and intuitions on how technological innovation is humanizing our individual lives, our relationships and the connections between businesses and people. Star Wars director George Lucas, Fitbit designer Gadi Amit, Stanford Center on Longevity founder......

February 04, 2015

It’s been more than 50 years since the publication of To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee’s only novel, until now. In a surprise announcement, a “new” work by Lee (about Scout Finch as an adult, and her aging father, Atticus) will be published by HarperCollins this July. Lee hasn’t been suffering from a half-century long writer’s block; nor, apparently, was the 88-year-old author holding out on us. The novel, Go Set A Watchman, was only recently discovered by Lee’s lawyer. The author – living with the debilitating effects of a 2007......

October 01, 2014

Need a new stack of books for your bedside table? Brad and Irwin share their reading list and insights gleaned from within the pages. Let us know your thoughts on the books if you’ve read them (or leave book recommendations) in the comments below. 1. The Soul of the World Bob Dylan sang, “It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” English philosopher and writer Roger Scruton’s wise and beautifully written The Soul of the World (Princeton University Press) makes the......

September 28, 2014

Why do we worry about getting a parking space, more than we worry about the fragility of life? Why, on cars, are gas tanks located on different sides? Would any one of us be strong enough to survive a catastrophe? Is it better to dig into our every thought and emotion to discover ourselves – or to just be happy not knowing everything? Why, as soon as we complain about our life, does someone inevitably say, “Hey, imagine if you were living in Rwanda”…? Wouldn’t it be funny if there was a......